The penultimate episode of the first season of Hallmark Channel’s original series When Calls the Heart drew its top audience to date.
The March 22 premiere averaged a 1.8 household rating and 2.01 million viewers, according to Nielsen live + same-day data. The installment, entitled “Rules of Engagement,” garnered over 2.5 million unduplicated viewers in the 9 p.m. hour.
The first-season finale is set to air on March 29 and will feature Golden Globe and Emmy winner James Brolin as Jedidiah Black, a circuit judge who has come to bring justice to the town folk of Coal Valley following the deadly mine explosion.
Based on the novel of the same name by Janette Oke, When Calls The Heart stars Lori Loughlin (Full House, Garage Sale Mystery) Erin Krakow (Army Wives, Chance at Romance), Daniel Lissing (Last Resort) and Jack Wagner (The Bold and the Beautiful, Melrose Place, My Gal Sunday).
Officials at the programmer’s upfront luncheon on March 13 said the network was leaning toward renewing the drama.
